Willy Nihilly.

So much violence these days in the news. Lots of innocent people getting attacked by other people. Why is this?

A: “Violence,” as a category of behavior, shifts based on dominant discourses. While you would be absolutely shocked by the humiliation-based Medieval stocks, a Medieval peasant would likely be horrified by the amount of personal information you divulge as a matter of course. However, you are not asking for a genealogy of violence; you demand to know the very root of violence in humanity.

Let us attempt this fool-task. Perhaps we can begin by defining “violence” as a use of force by one subject against another subject or object. We’ll leave the definition of “force” open and ambiguous. Why do we use force? Force must be used to accomplish something, so we can see that violence is ultimately rooted in Desire. Unless one accepts the premises of solipsism, desire inevitably impinges upon the Other, attempting to reorient the Other to the Subject’s own will.

This holds up through linguistic reconstruction: “violence” has its root in the Proto-Indo-European word “ welh-“ meaning to strive after. This forms the root of “will,” “wish,” and “want.” Indeed, we can trace the violent act back to the very act of desiring. The moment that you feel the desire for Cool Ranch Doritos, you have already become party to violence. Your biology betrays you from the very start.

This series of “logical” premises and conclusions was an act of violence against alternative epistemologies and the unfathomable void of reality. I apologize for my will.